Peace is Possible

"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, 

to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful."

Colossians 3:15

"We tend to think of peace as the absence of turmoil. We have peace, we say, when countries are not at war. But sometimes, that peace is only the two sides reloading." -- Rev. Bruce Goettsche

Paul is not speaking of peace being the absence of trouble. He is referring to the peace we can have in the very midst of trouble. That peace is supernatural and comes first when we have peace with God through Christ. He reconciles us to God through His sacrifice on the cross. Paying our sin debt; a debt we can never pay ourselves. When we know that God is no longer angry with us because we have claimed Jesus as our righteousness, then we have "peace with God". Now that we have peace with God we also have the Holy Spirit living within us, sending out constant messages to our hearts and minds. Messages that say, "Trust Christ". "Rely on Him". "Give your troubles over to Him."  "Let go." If we are listening and obeying, we will give control over to the Spirit; we will let Christ's peace take over. It really is a matter of yielding to Him. This same yielding needs to take place in our relationships. We too often forfeit peace with others because we are so intent upon having things our own way. The Holy Spirit calls us to reconciliation with God and with others. Christ said the greatest commandment is to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and spirit, and the second greatest commandment is to love others as we love ourselves. When we obey these commandments, peace rules in our hearts. All this leads to thankfulness. Thankfulness to Christ for making peace possible. Hallelujah!